Madeleine McCann, a four-year-old visiting Algarve, Portugal with her parents, disappeared in 2007 and has been missing for nearly 12 years. To this day, her parents have never given up searching for her.
Madeleine's disappearance and the global aftermath will be featured in Netflix's upcoming documentary series, The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Madeleine's parents, however, don't approve of the series. Gerry and Kate McCann issued a statement surrounding the eight-part series on their website, www.findmadeleine.com.
"We are aware that Netflix are planning to screen a documentary in March 2019 about Madeleine's disappearance," the written statement began. "The production company told us that they were making the documentary and asked us to participate. We did not see and still do not see how this program will help the search for Madeleine and, particularly given there is an active police investigation, could potentially hinder it. Consequently, our views and preferences are not reflected in the program. We will not be making any further statements or giving interviews regarding this program."
The documentary's Executive Producer, Emma Cooper, responded to the McCann's reaction in a conversation with Newsweek. "We have informed the McCanns of our intention with this series from the outset and asked them to contribute," Cooper said. "We have also offered to show them the entire series prior to transmission and kept them informed throughout. While they chose not to participate, we believe that the series, two years in the making, is a comprehensive and thorough examination of the case over the past twelve years. We have interviewed more than 40 contributors including friends of the McCann family, eyewitness, private investigators, former suspects to make this as comprehensive an exploration as possible."
While the McCanns are not in any way involved with the Netflix series, they are active in searching for their daughter. The McCann's website is dedicated to ways the public can contribute to the efforts to find Madeleine. On the site are sketches of possibly important figures in her disappearance. The family is asking anyone with information on the case, or the suspects, to come forward via a hotline either by phone or email.
The website also has a sketch of what Madeleine could look like at 9 years old. She would now be almost 16.
Kate McCann released a book about Madeleine's disappearance in 2011. The book, titled Madeleine: Our Daughter's Disappearance and the Continuing Search For Her, tackles the biggest details of the ongoing case, as well as donates profits to finding Madeleine.
The search for Madeleine has already spent over £11.6million ($15.2 million), as reported by Metro in September 2018.
The Netflix series will speak with investigators and media personnel who worked diligently to aid in the search for Madeleine. It will also dive into the large role media played in alerting the globe of Madeleine's disappearance, which allegedly became one of the best reported missing persons cases in modern history. The series will premiere March 15 on Netflix.
Uncommon Knowledge
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